Fastener driving apparatus



April 8, 1969 w, BAUM 3,437,249

FASTENER DRIVING APPARATUS Filed Aug. 22, 1966 Sheet of e 67 777mm, mum/M, flz/MuM/M Wyn Arm/Ways April 8, 1969 w. H. BAUM FASTENER DRIVING APPARATUS Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 22, 1966 Arron/5Y5 April 1969 w. H. BAUM 3,437,249

FASTENER DRIVING APPARATUS Filed Aug. 22, 1966 Sheet 3 of e Arron/5 6 p s, 1969 w. H. BAUM 3,437,249

FASTENER DRIVING APPARATUS Filed Aug. 22, 1966 Sheet 4 of 6 I 77744071 Mam/m fa/MMM Wyn ArmeMsYs United States Patent 3,437,249 FASTENER DRIVING APPARATUS William H. Baum, Westchester, Ill., assignor to Fastener Corporation, Franklin Park, 111., a corporation of Illinois Filed Aug. 22, 1966, Ser. No. 574,208

Int. Cl. B27f 7/02; B25c 7/00 U.S. Cl. 227-120 13 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A magazine assembly for a fastener driving tool comprising a longitudinally extending guideway for supporting a strip of fasteners in feeding position for movement into the drive track of the tool. The magazine is provided with a lateral opening along one side of the guideway and support means extending laterally outward of said guideway adjacent the opening defining means for holding additional strips of fasteners in lateral side-by-side relation. Means are provided for moving the additional strips laterally inwardly into the guideway through the lateral opening therein so that as the nails in each strip aligned in the guideway are exhausted, a new strip will automatically move into feeding position in the guideway.

The present invention relates generally to fastener driving tools and, more particularly, to a new and improved pneumatically, or electrically, operated tool for driving large fasteners. One such pneumatically operated tool capable of driving large fasteners, such as common nails supplied from flexible carrier strips of the type produced in accordance with the copending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 366,487, filed May 11, 1964, now Patent No. 3,315,436, or in U.S. Patent No. 3,212,632, is shown in U.S. Patent No. 3,253,760. Another pneumatically operated too-l capable of driving large staples and the like is shown and described in the U.S. Patent No. 3,056,137, and the present invention provides an improvement over these previous tools.

One of the main problems associated with power-driven fastener driving tools that are capable of driving large fasteners, such as common nails or staples, is that of maintaining the dimensions and weight of the tool within reasonable limits so that an operator may readily manipulate and handle the tool. Because of these weight and size limitations, the need has arisen for a tool magazine assembly for holding a substantial number of large fasteners, yet which is not too heavy, bulky in size, or complicated in operation. Some magazine assemblies for tools of this type have included a plurality of guideways or tracks -for guiding the fasteners into the drive track of the tool, rather than only a single guideway, and it has been necessary to provide means for shifting the position of the magazine to align first one guideway and, subsequently, the next guideway, with the drive track of the tool. It has also been proposed to feed the fasteners from a long, flexible carrier strip which is coiled or rolled within a large housing, and the coil is then unwound slowly as the fasteners are fed into the drive track. In these arrangements it is generally necessary to feed all of the fasteners from one strip before a new one can be inserted and coiled within the housing.

The present invention relates to a power actuated tool capable of driving relatively large fasteners, such as common nails or large staples, which includes a magazine providing means for holding a relatively large number of fasteners. Even though the magazine is capable of hold- 3,437,249 Patented Apr. 8, 1969 ICC ing a substantial number of fasteners, by the novel arrangement of the invention, it is relatively small in size, light in weight, and relatively simple in operation.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved power actuated fastener driving tool capable of driving large fasteners, such as common nails or large staples, and the like.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved magazine for a tool as described, which is capable of holding a substantial number of relatively large fasteners and feeding them into the drive track of the associated tool.

Yet another object of the present invention is the provision of a new and improved magazine of the type described which is easy to load, can hold a large number of fasteners, is foolproof in operation, and yet is small in size, light in weight, and easy to handle.

Yet another object of the present invention is the provision of a new and improved magazine of the type described which is capable of holding a plurality of fasteners carried on separate strips and aligning the strips successively with the drive track of the tool as the fasteners in each strip are exhausted.

In one embodiment of the present invention, these and many other objects of the invention are accomplished by a new and improved power driven fastener driving tool, including a magazine assembly for holding a number of nails or other large fasteners, such as staples, supplied from separate carrier strips. The fasteners on each carrier strip are fed from the magazine into the drive track of the tool and as soon as the fasteners of each strip are exhausted a new strip is aligned and the fasteners are fed therefrom without interruption in the feeding of the fasteners to the drive track. To this end, the magazine assembly includes a body member having a guideway including fixed rail means aligned with the drive track of the tool and extending rearwardly and outwardly therefrom for supporting a single strip of fasteners and guiding the fasteners into the drive track. Pusher means is mounted for movement along the rail means and is biased forwardly to advance fasteners in the strip into the drive track as each fastener is driven by the tool. The magazine assembly includes means for supporting a plurality of separate strips in side-by-side lateral relation with each other and the one strip from which fasteners are being fed, and means are provided for biasing the strips laterally toward the rail means so that a new strip will be moved into feeding position against the rail means as the fasteners of the preceding strip are exhausted. Because a plurality of separate strips can be supported in lateral side-by-side relation to each other, the magazine assembly can be shortened in length and still hold a large number of fasteners. Because the strips are moved laterally rather than longitudinally along the length of the magazine or guideway, the apparatus can be reduced in length and weight so that an operator may easily manipulate the tool and magazine.

Other objects of the present invention in another embodiment of the invention will become apparent and be described more fully in the following detailed description in conjunction with the drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary side elevational view of a new and improved fastener driving tool constructed in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a transverse cross-sectional view taken through the magazine assembly of the tool of FIG. 1 substantially along the line 22 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a sectional elevational view of the magazine assembly taken substantially along line 33 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a top plan view of the magazine assembly taken substantially along line 4-4 of FIG. 1

FIG. 5 is a view substantially similar to FIG. 2, but illustrating the magazine assembly after one of the fastener carrying strips has been exhausted;

FIG. 6 is a side elevational view somewhat similar to FIG. 3 but illustrating the operational part of the magazine assembly in another of their operating positions;

FIG. 7 is an enlarged detailed fragmentary perspective view illustrating means for supporting the strips of fasteners in the magazine assembly;

FIG. 8 is a side elevational view similar to FIG. 1, but illustrating another embodiment of a magazine assembly constructed in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a transverse cross-sectional view of the magazine assembly illustrated in FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a longitudinal sectional view taken substantially along line 1010 of FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is a top plan view of the magazine assembly of FIG. 8 taken substantially along line 1111 thereof;

FIG. 12 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view of the magazine assembly taken substantially along line 1212 of FIG. 10;

FIG. 13 is a side elevational view showing a rearward portion of the magazine assembly of FIG. 8;

FIG. 14 is a sectional view similar to FIG. 12, but showing operating portions of the magazine assembly in a different operating position;

FIG, 15 is a perspective view of the fastener strip supporting means of a magazine assembly of FIG. 8; and

FIG. 16 is a perspective view of one mechanism for aligning the fastener holding assembly of FIG. 15 with the drive track of the tool.

Referring now, more particularly, to the drawings and specifically to FIGS. 1 through 8, therein is illustrated one embodiment of a new, improved, power actuated fastener driving tool which is capable of driving large fasteners, such as common round-headed nails 36, or the like, and which is referred to generally by the reference numeral 10. While the illustrative embodiments of the present invention are adapted for driving large common nails, it is to be understood that these embodiments are included by way of illustration and not by way of limitation. The tool 10 includes a housing 12 of lightweight material, such as aluminum or the like. The housing 12 includes a rearwardly extending hollow handle portion 14 which is easily grasped by an operator and a vertically extending head chamber 16 at the forward end, which houses the driving motor (not shown) of the tool. The lower end of the head chamber 16 is connected to the upper end of a downwardly depending nosepiece 18 having a longitudinal drive track 20 formed therein to accommodate the sliding movement of a reciprocating driver (not shown). The driver is movable rapidly downward in the drive track 20 on a power stroke and moves upwardly on a return stroke after driving a nail, and is connected to the driving motor in the head chamber which may be actuated by pneumatic or electrical power. A driving or power stroke of the driver is initiated by means of a trigger member 22 pivotally mounted on a pin 24 supported from the underside of the handle 14. Preferably, the tool -10 also includes a touch-trip safety mechanism generally indicated by the numeral 26, which may be similar in construction and operation to the touch-trip safety mechanism described in the previously mentioned Patent No. 3,212,632. Briefly, the touch-trip safety mechanism 26 includes a workpiece engaging member 28 which is slidably mounted in grooves formed in the nosepiece 18 and, normally, the member 28 extends downwardly below the lower end of the nosepiece for engagement with a workpiece when the tool is positioned for driving a nail. The upper end of the member 28 is connected to a moveable valve stem 30 which extends upwardly into the tool housing 12 to control a safety valve therein operable to prevent a power stroke from being initiated by depression 4 of the trigger 22 unless the lower end of the nosepiece 18 is against or close to a workpiece.

In accordance with the present invention, the tool 10 includes a magazine assembly 34 extending longitudinally rearwardly from the nosepiece 18, and the forward end of the magazine is supported from the nosepiece by a pair of projecting lugs 44 which extend into recesses 18a in the nosepiece and are secured therein by a pair of cap screws 46. Once the cap screws 46 are loosened, the magazine 34 can be easily disassembled from the nosepiece of the tool. The magazine assembly 34 is adapted to contain a plurality of individually separate nail strips 35, each strip containing a number (approximately 20) of the large, round-headed nails 36. The strips 35 are supported in the magazine to lie in side-by-side lateral relation relative to one another, and the nails from one and then each succeeding laterally adjacent strip are fed into the drive track of the tool.

In order to guide the nails 36 of the strips forwardly toward the drive track 20, the magazine assembly 34 in cludes a fixed wall member 38 having an upper edge or rail portion 38a for supporting the heads of the nails as each succeeding strip is moved into feeding position against the fixed wall member (the strip referred to by the numeral 35A is in a feeding position). The sidewall 38 is in alignment with one side of a rearwardly facing opening or entrance 20a formed in the nosepiece 18 to communicate with the drive track 20, and in order to feed the nails from the strip 35A in feeding position along the guide rail 38a, a slidable pusher member 40 is mounted for sliding movement along the sidewall 38 for engagement with the rearwardmost nail in the strip. The pusher member 40 is biased forwardly toward the drive track by means of a suitable compression spring extending rearwardly of the pusher (not shown) or by another type of bliasing spring arrangement. To accommodate the biasing spring, the sidewall 38 is formed with a channelshaped portion 38b (FIGS. 2 and 5) which extends longitudinally of the magazine and which strengthens the sidewall structurally against lateral deflection.

The pusher 40 is supported for sliding movement along the upper rail portion 38a of the magazine sidewall 38 by means of an upwardly and transversely extending projection or flange 40a which overlies the upper edge of the rail 38a and is bent downwardly along the outer surface of the sidewall. The pusher also includes an upwardly extending handle or tab 40b at the rearward end (FIG. 1) for use in grasping the pusher member to retract it rearwardly against the force of the bias spring so that the next laterally adjacent strip of fasteners in the magazine can be moved into feeding position against the sidewall 38.

Referring to FIGS. 2 and 5, the magazine structure includes an outer wall member 48 conforming generally to the shape of the sidewall 38 and extending along a portion intermediate the length of the magazine. The wall member 48 is formed to include an upper flange 48:: which overlies the heads of the nails of the strip 35A in feeding position and prevents the nails or the pusher from moving upwardly to any great extent during sliding movement along the rail portion 38a.

Additional stiffness to the magazine structure is provided by a longitudinal bottom member 50 which is fastened to the inside surface of the lower portion of the fixed sidewall 38 by spot welding, or the like. The bottom member 50 is slightly thicker than the lateral thickness of the largest nails which are to be used in the tool 10 and defines the bottom wall of a longitudinal fastener guideway 52 having one sidewall formed by the wall 38. The guideway 52 is aligned to extend rearwardly from the feed opening 20a communicating with the drive track 20. While the fixed wall member 38 forms one side of the guideway 52, the opposite side thereof is open for a portion of its length to permit lateral movement of successive nail strips into the feeding position against the fixed wall, as previously described. When a nail strip 35A is in the feeding position in the guideway 52 against the inner surface of the fixed sidewall 38 with the heads of the nails supported on the upper edge of the rail portion 38a, the nails are movable forwardly along the guideway by the pusher 40 into the drive track of the tool.

In order to support a number of the separate nail strips 35 in the magazine 34 in a side-by-side, lateral relation, the magazine includes a pair of laterally outwardly extending curved strip supporting members 54 and 56. The forward lateral support member 54 is formed with a rearwardly extending upper flange 54a which defines the upper wall of a rearwardly facing, laterally extending recess 54b for accommodating the head of the leading nail in each of the nail strips. The lower wall of the recess 54b is formed by a curved laterally extending ridge 54c for supporting the nail heads. The rearward lateral support 56 includes a forwardly facing, laterally extending flange 56a, a recess 56b, and a ridge 560 for supporting and guiding the heads of the rearwardmost nail in each of the strips in the magazine. Each nail strip 35 contains approximately twenty nails held in an assemblage with the nail shanks in parallel relation by means of a pair of plastic carrier strips 36a extending transversely of the nail shanks. Because each strip contained in the magazine 34 and not in feeding position is supported only at its opposite ends by the lateral support members 54 and 56, the nails 36 intermediate the end of each strip are supported by their carrier strips 36a alone, and hence the strips are freely movable laterally along the support members toward the feeding position against the fixed wall 38, as designated by the strip 35A.

The guideway 52 of the magazine includes a sidewall structure 68 opposite and parallel with the sidewall 38. The sidewall 68 includes a short forward section 68a between the nosepiece 18 and the forward lateral nail strip support 54, a rearward section 68b extending rearwardly from the rearward lateral nail strip support 56 (FIGS. 1 and 4), and a lateral feed opening 70 is defined between the wall sections 6811 and 68b to permit lateral movement of the nail strips 35 into the feeding position along the opposite fixed sidewall 38.

In order to prevent the nail strips 35, which are supported on the lateral support members 54 and 56, from moving laterally outwardly away from the magazine guideway 52 and in order to feed the strips 35 laterally inwardly into the feeding position in the guideway along the fixed sidewall 38, the magazine 34 includes an outer sidewall member 72 which is laterally movable toward and away from the guideway. A nail strip engaging bar 74 of semicircular cross section is aflixed along the upper inside edge of the movable sidewall 72 to bear inwardly against the shanks of the nails in the strips and force the strips inwardly toward the guideway 52. The outer sidewall 72 is supported by means of an integrally formed bracket member 76 which extends inwardly and is pivotally mounted adjacent the bottom member 50 by means of a pivot pin 78. The pin 78 is supported in a hinge-like structure 80 afiixed to the bottom member 50 of the magazine, and a spring 82 is mounted on the pin 78 to bias the movable sidewall 72 in counterclockwise directiOn, as viewed in FIGS. 2 and 5.

In order to load a plurality of fastener carrying strips 35 into the magazine, the outer sidewall is manually pivoted in a clockwise direction until it is clear of and below the lateral support structures 54 and 56 and the nail strips are then inserted inwardly toward the guideway between, and supported at opposite ends by, the support members 54 and 56. The outer sidewall 72 is then released and the spring 82 causes the upper edge thereof to move inwardly and bias the strips loaded into the magazine laterally inwardly toward the guideway 52. When all of the nails 36 carried in the nail strip 35A in feeding position have been advanced past the forward lateral support 54, the biasing force exerted on the strips by the outer wall 72 causes the next laterally adjacent nail strip to move laterally inwardly into the feeding position against the sidewall 38, and nails from this strip are then advanced into the drive track by the pusher 40. After all of the nails from each strip in the feeding position have been driven, another strip is laterally moved into feeding position and the cycle is repeated until all of the nail strips originally loaded into the magazine have been utilized. As shown in FIG. 2, the magazine can hold approximately ten or more of the individual nail strips 35, each of which contains approximately twenty nails and, accordingly, the magazine, when fully loaded, will accommodate a large number of nails.

In order to aid in separating the nail strip 35A in the feeding position from the next adjacent nail strip in the magazine, as designated by the numeral 35B (FIGS. 2, 3, 4, and 5), the magazine includes a slidably movable lower separating knife 84, which is best shown in FIGS. 3 and 6. The separating knife 84 includes a sharpened up er edge 84a which is movable upwardly between the lower portions of the nail shanks in the adjacent strips 35A and 358 to separate the strips so that the nails in the strip 35A can be advanced along the guideway into the drive track without interference. The separating knife is mounted on a pair of laterally and outwardly extending headed pins 86, which extend through slotted lugs 88 protruding from the forward and rearward ends of the lower edge of the knife member. As best shown in FIGS. 3 and 6, the lugs 88 are provided with rearwardly and downwardly extending parallel slots 88a in order to permit the knife member to move upwardly from a retracted position (FIG. 6) into the separating or dividing position (FIG. 3), wherein the upper knife edge 84a extends between the nail shanks of the strips 35A and 35B and separates the lower portions of the strips by a distance equal to the thickness of the knife member.

In order that the strip 35B next adjacent to the strip 35A in feeding position may be moved into feeding position along the fixed guide wall 38, the separating knife member 84 is movable downwardly and rearwardly to the retracted position (FIG. 6) wherein the upper edge 84a is clear of or below the lower ends of the nail shanks and offers no interference to lateral movement of the strip 35B into the feeding position. The separating member is normally biased into the upper, separating position by means of a compression spring 90 extending between the rearward end of the member and a lug 92 formed on the outer sidewall 68, as best shown in FIG. 1.

In addition to the lower separating knife 84, the magazine includes a vertically extending separating member 94 mounted adjacent the forward end of the pusher 40 and laterally offset, outwardly of the main body of the pusher. The member 94 includes a sharpened for-ward edge 94a (FIG. 4) which is adapted to move between the adjacent strips 35A and 35B during advancement of the pusher to separate the upper portions of the nail shanks in the strips and cam the strip 35B outwardly so that it does not interfere with the forward movement of the nails in the strip 35A toward the drive track. The vertical separating member 94 is attached to the body of the pusher 40, and its leading edge is slightly ahead of the forward edge of the pusher body (FIG. 4) to insure that the strips are spaced apart as the nails in the strip 35A are advanced into the drive track.

The lower dividing member or knife 84 includes an upwardly extending projection 96 at its rearward end (FIGS. 3 and 6) and the projection is engageable with the rearward edge of the vertically extending separator member 94 (FIG. 6) when the pusher is rearwardly withdrawn to a fully retracted position.

When the pusher is moved rearwardly into the fully retracted position after the nails in the strip 35A have been advanced past the forward lateral support member 54, the lower knife member 84 is moved downwardly and rearwardly out of dividing engagement between the nail shanks in the strips 35A and 35B so that the strip 353 may then be moved laterally inwardly into the feeding position in the guideway 52. Movement of the pusher to the retracted position is accomplished manually by the operator of the tool by grasping the handle 40b and moving it rearwardly along the guideway. When the lower dividing member 84 is moved downwardly and rearwardly to the retracted position, the laterally adjacent strip 35B automatically moves laterally inward into the feeding position under the biasing force of the outer sidewall 72.

The magazine assembly 34 of the present invention thus provides means for holding a substantial supply of relatively large, round-headed nails and, because of the lateral feeding arrangement through the sidewall opening 70, the longitudinal dimensions of the magazine are reduced considerably. In addition, automatic lateral feeding of the laterally adjacent strips into the feeding position in the guideway is accomplished by rearward retraction of the pusher 40. Upon release of the pusher from the retracted position, the forward edge thereof engages the rearwardmost nail in the strip 35A in feeding position and begins to advance the nails forwardly toward the drive track. During the advancement of the nails along the guideway, the vertical divider member 94 separates the adjacent strips 35A and 35B so that their heads do not interfere, and the lower divider member 84 insures that the lower portions of the nail shanks in the strips 35A and 35B are spaced and separated so that smooth advancement of the nails in the strip 35A is possible.

Referring now to FIGS. 8 through 16 of the drawings, therein is illustrated another embodiment of a fastener driving tool constructed in accordance with the present invention and referred to generally by the numeral 110. The tool 110 operates in a manner similar to the tool and, where possible, reference numerals including the prefix 1 will be used to describe parts of the tool 110 similar to corresponding parts in the tool 10 previously described. The tool 110 includes a magazine assembly 134 extending rearwardly from the nosepiece 118, and the magazine includes a longitudinal guideway 152 for guiding the headed nails 136 in the strips 135 forwardly towards the drive track 120. The forward end of the magazine 134 is secured to the nosepiece 118 in a manner similar to that of the tool 10 so that the magazine may be removed from the nosepiece of the tool if desired.

The longitudinal guideway 152 is formed by a pair of parallel, longitudinally extending sidewalls 138 and 168 which form opposing sides, and a bottom member 150 (FIG. 9) provides the desired spacing between the sidewalls. As shown in FIG. 9, the sidewall 138 is provided with a channel-shaped portion and an upper edge along which the heads of the nails in the strip 135A in the feeding position advance into the drive track. The guideway is aligned with an entrance opening 120a leading into the drive track 120, as best shown in FIG. 11, and the sidewalls 138 and 168 are divided into short forward segments 138a and 16811, respectively, and rearward segments 13811 and 16812, respectively, spaced therefrom to form a lateral feed opening 170 through which the nail strips 135 are moved laterally into alignment with the drive track. Nails are supplied to the drive track from a plurality of nail strips 135 which are supported in a laterally movable magazine or carrier 190 (FIG. having a plurality of upwardly diverging, spaced apart dividers 192, adjacent pairs of which form a plurality of separate laterally spaced feedways 194. As the carrier is moved incrementally in a lateral direction with respect to the guideway axis, successive feedways 194 are moved into alignment with the guideway so that nails may advance from the carrier into the forward portion of the guideway. The nail carrier 190 is guided and supported for lateral movement between the forward wall sections 138a and 168a relative to the magazine guideway by means of a curved, laterally extending forward support member 154 projecting outwardly from opposite sides of the magazine, and a similar lateral support member 156 is provided adjacent the rearward end of the lateral feed opening 170. The lateral support members 154 and 156 are spaced apart by a distance slightly greater than the length of the nail carrier 190 and a curved bottom wall 155 (FIG. 9) is provided to support the bottom of the carrier during lateral movement. As shown in FIGS. 9 and 15, the carrier 190 may include ten or more of the separate feedways 194 and, consequently, a substantial number of nails can be contained in the magazine when full.

The magazine assembly 134 includes a pusher 140 which is movable longitudinally of the guideway 152 and into the respective feedways 194 of the carrier 190 when aligned therewith. The pusher 140 is biased forwardly by spring means, not shown, and is manually movable to a rearward retracted position (FIG. 14) to permit lateral shifting of the nail carrier to align a successive feedway with the guideway. The pusher spring means is connected to the rear end of pusher 140 and is contained in the channel-shaped portion of rear segment 1381). The nail carrier 190 is loaded with a plurality of fastener strips 135, and the loaded carrier is then inserted between the forward and rearward lateral support members 154 and 156 and moved from right to left (FIG. 9) until the first feedway 194 is in alignment with the guideway 152 of the magazine. The pusher 140 is then released from its rearward, retracted position so that the forward edge thereof advances forwardly beyond the rearward lateral support member 156 and engages the nail strip A. As nails from the strip 135A are advanced into the drive track by the pusher, it moves forwardly along the feedway in alignment until the last nail 136 has been advanced forwardly past the forward lateral support member 154. The pusher is then moved to its retracted rearward position and the nail carrier 190 is moved laterally until the next feedway 194 therein is in alignment with the magazine guideway 152. The feeding cycle is then repeated until all of the nails in the strips 135 contained in the carrier have been driven or fed into the forward section of the guideway. When this occurs, the nail carrier is then Withdrawn and removed from between the lateral support member from the left-hand side of the magazine (FIG. 9) and is re loaded with another group of nail strips.

In order to laterally move the carrier 194 from right to left (FIG. 9) to align successive feedways 194 with the guideway, the magazine includes an outer wall member 172, similar to the wall member 72 of the tool 10. The outer wall is pivotally mounted on the magazine and is biased to move in a counterclockwise direction by a spring member 182 (FIG. 9).

In order to insure accurate alignment between the succeeding feedways 194 in the nail carrier 190 and the guideway 152 of the magazine, the magazine assembly includes a reciprocally movable, longitudinally extending latch member 200 (FIG. 16), which is actuated by the pusher each time the pusher is moved to its rearward retracted position. The latch member 200 is biased toward a forward position by means of a compression spring 202 (FIG. 8) which bears against the rearward end thereof and is seated against a fixed lug 204 in the rearward portion of the magazine structure. The latch member 200 includes a forward latch portion having a rearwardly projecting tooth 200a and a rearward latch portion having a forwardly projecting tooth 200b laterally offset from the tooth 200a. The opposing tips of the teeth 200a and 2001) are spaced apart by a distance slightly less than the length of the feedways 194 in the nail carrier 190, so that when the latch member 200 is in a forward position (FIG. 12) the tooth 20% projects forwardly of the lateral support member 156, and when the latch member is in a rearward position the tooth 200a projects rearwardly of the lateral support member 154. When the latch member is in the forward position, the tooth 20% engages the dividers 192 in the nail carrier and prevents further lateral movement of the carrier by the biasing wall member 172 (FIG. 12). When the latch member is moved toward the rearward position, the tooth 20012 is retracted rearwardly permitting the nail carrier to move laterally (FIG. 14) for aligning the next feedway 194 into feeding position. In order to prevent the nail carrier from laterally shifting an amount greater than the distance between center lines of adjacent feedways 194, the tooth 200a is adapted to project rearwardly beyond the lateral support member 154 into a carrier engaging or stop position (FIG. 14) and prevent further lateral shifting of the carrier. When the pusher 140 is then released and the latching member 200 is again biased to the forward position, the tooth 200a moves forwardly out of the stopping position and the tooth 20% moves into a forward latching position to hold the next succeeding feedway in the nail carrier in alignment with the guideway 194 until the pusher is again rearwardly retracted. In this manner, the nail carrier 190 is permitted to shift laterally in increments to align successive feedways with the guideway until the entire supply of nails in the carrier has been exhausted. The carrier 190 is then removed from the magazine assembly 134 and a new supply of strips is loaded into the feedways 194 thereof.

In order that the latch member 200 may be moved rearwardly each time the pusher 140 is moved to the rearwardly retracted position, the latching member 200 includes a laterally projecting lug 200a at its rearward end (FIGS. 11 and 16) which is engageable with an upward projection 141 (FIG. 13) at the forward end of the pusher.

From the foregoing description it should be noted that tools and 110 of the present invention provide means for holding substantial quantities of relatively large nails. The nails are supplied from a plurality of carrier strips supported in lateral side-by-side relation for movement laterally into alignment with the longitudinal guideway. Accordingly, the magazine can be reduced in length without sacrificing the capacity of the assembly for containing a large number of nails when fully loaded. Operation of the magazine is relatively foolproof, and only a single guideway is required as distinguished from previous constructions using angularly shiftable multiple guideways.

Although the present invention has been described with reference to various illustrative embodiments thereof, it should be understood that numerous other modifications and embodiments can be devised by those skilled in the art that will fall within the spirit and scope of the principles of this invention.

What is claimed and desired to be secured by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A magazine assembly for a fastener driving tool comprising a longitudinally extending guideway for supporting a strip of fasteners in feeding position for movement into the drive track of said tool, lateral opening defining means along one side of said guideway, support means extending laterally of said guideway adjacent said opening defining means for holding additional strips of fasteners in lateral side-by-side relation and including a pair of spaced apart members for supporting the forward and rearward ends of said strips, and means for moving said additional strips laterally inwardly into said guideway through said opening defining means.

2. The magazine assembly of claim 1 wherein said guideway includes fixed wall means opposite said opening defining means for supporting said strip of fasteners in feeding position.

3. The magazine assembly of claim 1 including pusher means for advancing fasteners along said guideway toward said drive track and means for separating said strip in feeding position from said additional strips on said support means upon forward travel of said pusher means.

4. The magazine assembly of claim 1 including divider means extending longitudinally of said guideway along the bottom thereof for separating said fastener strip in feeding position from said additional strips on said support means.

5. The magazine assembly of claim 4 wherein said divider means is movable between a dividing position between adjacent fastener strips and a retracted position below said strips.

6. The magazine assembly of claim 5 wherein said divider means is normally biased into said dividing position and includes means cooperating with said pusher means for movement thereof into said retracted position upon rearward retraction of said pusher means along said guideway.

7. A magazine assembly for a fastener driving tool comprising a longitudinally extending guideway for supporting a strip of fasteners for movement into the drive track of said tool, means for supporting a plurality of fastener strips in lateral side-by-side relation and movable laterally to align successive strips supported therein longitudinally of said guideway, and means for moving said support means laterally by increments to align successive strips therein.

8. The magazine assembly of claim 7 wherein said support means includes a plurality of longitudinally extending, laterally spaced, strip holding recesses, each of said recesses adapted for movement into feeding alignment with said guideway forming an extension thereof.

9. The magazine assembly of claim 7 including pusher means for advancing fasteners in said guideway toward said drive track.

10. The magazine assembly of claim 9 wherein said pusher means includes means cooperating with said support means for moving the latter to align successive recesses with said guideway upon retraction of said pusher means.

11. The magazine assembly of claim 8 including latch means for holding said support means to accurately align successive recesses therein with said guideway.

12. The magazine assembly of claim 11 including pusher means slidable along said guideway and a recess aligned therewith for advancing fasteners toward said drive track.

13. The magazine assembly of claim 12 wherein said pusher means include means to render s-aid latch means inoperable upon retraction of said pusher means from an aligned recess permitting said support means to move laterally and align another recess with said guideway.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,355,807 8/1944 La Place.

2,409,049 10/1946 Lang.

2,931,038 4/ 1960 Wandel.

2,994,878 8/1961 Abrahamsen.

3,189,220 6/ 1965 Mullaney 227-- X 3,238,983 3/1966 Abrahamsen 227-120 X 3,266,697 8/ 1966 Fiedler 2271 20 GRANVILLE Y. CUSTER, 111., Primary Examiner. 

